Maine-based developer Chimani announced it now offers free mobile travel apps for each of the United States’ nearly 60 national parks.
Already, the company had released travel apps for 25 national parks, offering information about hiking trails and other points of interest. With Wednesday’s announcement, Chimani unveiled apps covering the 34 remaining parks.
“Each has all the original, curated content and offline functionality,” Kerry Gallivan, CEO and co-founder of Chimani, said in an email to FedScoop.
Chimani’s app for Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. (Courtesy of Chimani)
According to a press release, the apps allow users to access the information without cell or Wi-Fi service — which can be extremely limited in more remote parks. The release, which touts the apps as a way to “eliminate wasteful paper guides that end up in waste landfills,” said the announcement coincides with the National Park Service’s 100-year anniversary this year.
The Park Service offers several of its own apps for its parks. NPS spokeswoman Kathy Kupper said the agency has launched about 14 iPhone apps as well as 13 companion iPad apps. Fifteen more apps are in development, she said. The Park Service also has been working on “a single app that provides a baseline experience for all parks,” though she said the project doesn’t have a specific timeline.
Meanwhile, national parks have seen a number of third-party groups, like Chimani or National Geographic, developing apps for visitors.
The apps from Chimani were created in partnership with Subaru of America Inc., which is also a premier partner of the National Park Service Centennial. They are available for free download in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore.
